The present invention relates to a vehicular lighting unit in which a connector used to supply current to a light bulb is prevented from being dislodged and disconnected due to vibration of the connector during operation of the vehicle, thus preventing the connector from short-circuiting and further preventing it from touching the light bulb when it has been heated to a high temperature.
FIG. 10 illustrates an example of a conventional vehicular lighting unit a.
As shown in FIG. 10, a lamp housing b is in the form of a container having an opening, the front opening of which is covered with a lens c. A reflector d is mounted within the lamp chamber e defined by the lamp housing b and the lens c. The reflector d is fitted with a detachable light source bulb f.
Further, there is provided an opening g through the rear surface of the lamp housing b which is used in replacing the bulb f. The opening g is covered with a detachable cover member h.
A power supply cord i is passed through the cover member h, and a connector j is connected to the internal end of the power supply cord i. The terminal l connected to the leading end of the connecting cord k extending from the bulb f is connected to the connector j, whereby the bulb f is connected to a power supply via the connecting cord k, the connector j and the power supply cord i.
In the case of the aforementioned conventional vehicular lighting unit a, however, the connector j can vibrate considerably in response to vibration of the vehicle during operation because the connector j is not supported by any external member. Thus, the terminal l of the connecting cord k sometimes can be dislodged and disconnected from the connecting cord k. In addition, rapid vibration may damage the connecting cord k and the power supply cord i, thus causing short-circuiting.
Especially if the connector j, which is made of synthetic resin, touches the light source bulb f when the latter is heated to high temperature, there also arises a problem in that the body of the connector j may be deformed.